Friday, 5 September - Wuthering, Wuthering, Wuthering Heights

Good morning, it’s Friday, 5 September. In your Squiz Today…

• Victims of Robodebt get a record settlement

• Dan Andrews responds to the China controversy

• And some very easy wontons for the weekend…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said Robert Irwin, as you might have guessed, when he was asked what his late Dad Steve would have thought of him joining Dancing with the Stars US yesterday. Regardless of whether Robert does as well as 2015 winner Bindi, we’re guessing Steve would be proud…

A record Robodebt payout

The Squiz

Victims of the disastrous Robodebt scheme have won a record-breaking settlement after the federal government agreed to pay $475 million in compensation. It’s on top of $112 million in compensation after the original Robodebt class action settled in 2020, and all up, it takes the total to more than $2.4 billion - including $1.76 billion in debts cancelled/paid back. The new payout comes after an appeal last year by the class action when new evidence was turned up. It’s the largest settlement in Australian history, and Felicity Button, one of about 450,000 Robodebt victims, said “for the first time, I think in my whole life, I can say that there was a bit of fairness - not just justice - in our system”.

Remind me what happened…

This will get you across it, but to summarise… The Robodebt scheme was an automated debt recovery program established by the Coalition during its time in government from 2015 to 2019. It incorrectly calculated the money owed to Centrelink by welfare recipients by using the unlawful income averaging method. The system then sent each person letters and made automated phone calls to recover the debts, leading many to take out loans and sell personal effects to make payments. It caused huge distress, and Commissioner Catherine Holmes, who led the Robodebt Royal Commission, found it led to at least 3 people taking their own lives. And financially, it ultimately cost the government - and therefore taxpayers - a lot of money to cover the payouts to victims.

And how has that gone down?

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland described the settlement as the “just and fair thing to do” for victims. She pointed to Commissioner Holmes’ royal commission findings - that the scheme was “a crude and cruel mechanism, neither fair nor legal” and “a costly failure of public administration, in both human and economic terms”. And during a press conference, Peter Gordon from Gordon Legal - the firm which represented the class action - said it was “vindication and validation” for the victims, although “for some, there are wounds that will never heal”. The settlement now goes to the federal court for final approval, and victims will then be eligible for fixed compensation payments within 6 months. They've been told to register with Gordon Legal for updates about the process.

Feeding a great community partnership

What began with Ronni Kahn's "rogue food deliveries" has evolved into a nationwide movement, with Woolworths providing 70% of OzHarvest's rescued food. Their 10-year collaboration has created a powerful local impact model with food that would have gone to waste directly feeding people in that community. Woolworths' partnership with OzHarvest is the subject of a new podcast episode - you can listen to From Grassroots here.

Squiz the Rest

A tragedy in Lisbon

Portugal is observing a national day of mourning this morning after an accident at a major tourist attraction killed at least 16 people and injured 23 more. At around 6pm local time on Wednesday, a car travelling on one of the city’s funicular railways - called the Gloria funicular - derailed and collided with a nearby building. Funicular railways are designed to take people up and down the steep, sloping streets of the Portuguese capital, and they’re one of its most popular tourist attractions - here’s a good explainer of how they work. The city’s public transport authority has suspended all of the funicular railways for technical inspections and a full investigation is underway into what went wrong. Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas said it was a “tragic moment for our city”.

Dan Andrews defends his China cameo

The former Victorian Premier has been copping some flak for going to a major Chinese military parade on Wednesday, and popping up in a group pic that included Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Late yesterday, he said that his attendance at the parade was "in Australia's national interest" because of China's importance as a trading partner. As for the photo, Andrews said that he "condemned Putin and his illegal war in Ukraine from day one". PM Anthony Albanese was asked about this yesterday - without criticising Andrews directly, he said that he hasn't - and never will - meet either Putin or Kim. And just on the PM, he's had another phone call with US President Donald Trump overnight to talk trade, security and critical minerals. Details beyond that are scarce at this point, so stay tuned…

*If you’re wondering why critical minerals might have come up in the Trump/Albanese chat - well, we’ve got a Shortcut for that…

Vale Giorgio Armani

The 91yo Italian fashion designer and master of the suit’s death was announced overnight. Born in Piacenza in 1934, Armani got his start in fashion working as a window dresser in a department store and worked in haute couture fashion before he met the architect Sergio Galeotti in 1966. Galeotti became Armani's longtime personal and business partner before he died in 1985, and he encouraged Armani to form his own company. That company built steadily for years before taking off internationally after he won a contract to dress Richard Gere in the 1980 film American Gigolo. From there, he became a popular red carpet designer - here’s a gallery - and his brand became the iconic fashion name it is now, with Armani becoming a multi-billionaire. Italian PM Giorgia Meloni called him “an icon, a tireless worker, a symbol of the best of Italy”.

The festival of sport rolls on

Aside from the AFL finals, which we covered yesterday, there's plenty on for sports lovers this weekend - this morning, the NFL kicks off with this year's Super Bowl champs, the Philadelphia Eagles, playing the Dallas Cowboys. The NFL is the most valuable sporting league in the world, so there's plenty of eyes - and dollars - on it every year. On Saturday, our men's rugby side takes on Argentina in Townsville - at the reasonable time of 2pm AEST, and on Sunday, our women's side plays England on their turf at the less reasonable time of 2am AEST. If that's not enough, it's also the final round of the NRL home-and-away season, and we'll get the finals of the US Open as well. When too much is never enough…

It’s me, I’m Cathy, I’ve come home

One of the buzziest movies currently in the works is Wuthering Heights, the adaptation of Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel directed by Saltburn director Emerald Fennell. Fennell - who also played Camilla Parker-Bowles on The Crown, has a pretty provocative style - and that was on full display in the trailer that dropped yesterday. Featuring lots of heavy breathing and, um, evocative shots of things like eggs and fish (no, really…), it's clearly setting up to be a pretty out-there take on the source material. The movie was already controversial for casting Aussies Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as Catherine and Heathcliff, respectively, which some fans of the book are not happy about - we’ll find out if it’s a masterpiece or disaster when it releases on 13 February next year. Yep, the day before Valentine’s Day…

Friday Lites - 3 things we liked this week

Calling all lovers of dumplings: these easy chilli oil pork wontons come highly recommended by our Squiz Kids colleague Emma. Perfect on their own, or with a side of steamed Asian greens, if you wanna get fancy…

The aptly-named Dexter: Resurrection has been a real return to form for the serial killer series that started strong and ended with one of the worst-received series finales of all time. But this new season has had excellent reviews, and the finale drops today on Paramount+. Happy hunting…

Tomorrow would have been Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordan’s 54th birthday, so what better time to share this 1999 performance of Zombie in Paris... It's a pretty mesmerising piece of live rock music - as you can see from the video's 250 million+ views…

Squiz the Day

Friday
9.00am (AEST) - Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers will lead the Council on Federal Financial Relations meeting of state and territory treasurers to discuss road user charging, occupational licensing and GST funding arrangements - Canberra 

9.00am (AEST) - The outback Birdsville Races begin (until 6 September) - Birdsville, Queensland

9.30am (AEST) - Judgments will be delivered in 2 class action lawsuits alleging underpayment by Coles and Woolworths - Sydney

10.00am (AEST) - Deputy PM and Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong will attend the 12th Australia-Japan Foreign and Defence Ministers’ Meeting - Japan

10.20am (AEST) - American football: Philadelphia Eagles vs Dallas Cowboys in the opening game of the NFL - Philadelphia, US, watch on DAZN 

11.00am (AEST) - The National Portrait Gallery will unveil a new portrait of Aussie music icon Tina Arena - Canberra

11.00am (AEST) - A funeral for Porepunkah Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart will be held at the Victoria Police Academy - Melbourne

2.00pm (AEST) - The decision for Neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell’s bail application will be handed down, after his arrest over the alleged attack at Camp Sovereignty on Sunday evening - Melbourne

2.30pm (AEST) - Sentencing for one of the 2 men who brought a gun into the MCG during an AFL match in April - Melbourne

7.45pm (AEST) - Soccer: The Socceroos play NZ in a friendly match at GIO Stadium ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup - Canberra, watch on Paramount+

Taste Bundaberg Festival (until 14 September)

Brisbane Festival (until 27 September)

ABS data releases: Labour Account Australia, June 2025; Multiple job-holders, June 2025; Modellers' Database, June quarter 2025

International Day of Charity

Be Late for Something Day

Birthdays for actor Michael Keaton (1951), designer India Hicks (1967), and actor Rose McGowan (1973)

Anniversary of:

• Christine Hardt patenting the first modern brassiere (1889)

• Freddie Mercury’s birthday (1946)

• the premiere of The Muppet Show (1976)

• the death of Mother Teresa (1997)

Saturday
10.30am (AEST) - Portraits of Tasmania’s 15 Victoria Cross recipients will be unveiled at the Army Museum Tasmania - Hobart

2.30pm (AEST) - Rugby: First Test, Wallabies v Argentina at Queensland Country Bank Stadium - Townsville, watch on Kayo

National Fight Procrastination Day

Colour Blind Awareness Day

A birthday for actor Idris Elba (1972)

Anniversary of 

• the first supermarket, the Piggly Wiggly, being opened in Memphis, Tennessee (1916)

• the birthday of Dolores O’Riordan, leader singer of The Cranberries (1971)

• the funeral of Princess Diana, held at Westminster Abbey in London (1997) 

• Hurricane Irma becoming the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin region with winds of 280km/hour (2017)

• the deaths of opera singer Luciano Pavarotti (2007), actor Burt Reynolds, (2018) and former President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe (2019)

Sunday 
Father's Day 

2.00am (AEST) - Rugby: Australia v England in the Women’s Rugby World Cup - Brighton, UK, watch on Stan Sport

10.00pm (AEST) - MotoGP: Gran Premi de Catalunya race is on - Barcelona, Spain watch on Kayo

11.00pm (AEST) - F1: The Italian Grand Prix race - Monza, Italy, watch on Kayo

Child Protection Week 2025 begins (on until 13 September)

Threatened Species Day, on the anniversary of the death of the last Tassie Tiger Benjamin, at the Hobart Zoo (1936)  

Independence Day in Brazil

🧔‍♂️ World Beard Day

Anniversary of:

• the start of the Blitz when Germany bombed London for 57 nights as the Nazis prepared for an invasion (1940)

• the shooting of rapper Tupac Shakur (1996)

• Tony Abbott becoming PM after the Coalition defeated the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd Labor Government (2013)

• the death of rapper Mac Miller (2018)

Monday
4.00am (AEST) - The second and last lunar eclipse of the year will be visible across Australia